Gangs, drugs and pending legislation dominated discussion when members of the Illinois House Republican Violent Crime Task Force met with local law officials Friday.

Task force members, including 70th District Representative Robert Pritchard, were in DeKalb as part of a tour to speak with local law officials in Illinois. They are finding out departmental concerns and how they can help as legislators.

“These guys are in the front lines every day; it helps us to know what’s going on,” said Frank Aguilar, 24th District state representative from Cicero.

A topic that dominated discussion was the presence of drugs and gangs in DeKalb County and throughout the state.

DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said he considered DeKalb lucky in terms of gang presence. The department was able to squash the problem a few years back before it got out of hand, Feithen said. He added that he knows it could resurface at any time.

Gang problems often go hand-in-hand with drug problems, Aguilar said.

Panel members said DeKalb wasn’t free from drug problems and has seen different drugs lately.

DeKalb has a “ton” of marijuana and crack cocaine, Police Detective Robert Redel said. He added that DeKalb is beginning to see more heroin.

In addition to discussing drugs, concerns about legislation and staffing also came up.

Ron Matekaitis, DeKalb County state’s attorney, expressed the need for an additional judge in the county.

DeKalb County has between 650 and 700 felonies a year and only one judge to prosecute them. The cases are building up and need to be pushed through, Matekaitis said.

He discussed problems the county is having with DUIs and an increasing number of offenders refusing field sobriety tests. Matekaitis said he thought stiffer consequences for refusals would help.

He also addressed the need for additional legislation to help process sexual assault cases.

Another issue that arose was referred to laws restricting police actions (during interrogation or while processing paperwork) because of problems in other parts in the state, most notably in Cook County.

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said Chicago problems often dictate laws for the entire state.

“I think crime is one of the main concerns citizens have,” he said.